Let’s stop for a moment and reflect on the relationships we have had throughout our lifetime. Have some come and gone? Are we struggling with some right now? Are we exhibiting a non conditional love toward those we care about?
When we give our love to anyone, wouldn’t we agree it should be for better or worse? After all that principle is one that God exhibits toward us. He loves us forever, for better or worse. We enjoy that place in His heart. We enjoy knowing He loves us through our good times and through our bad times.
If we can’t love those around us in good and bad times, do we really love? If we truly love another how can we put limits or conditions on it? Love can only really be love if it freely flows from our hearts and stands strong against things we may not like or agree with. Love is a gift from God and the ability to love is also a gift from Him. Consider how wonderful that gift it is and consider God’s desire is that we share it without condition. How can we accept His unconditional love without loving others in the same way?
Accepting unconditional love from God while placing conditions on the love we give reminds me of a Bible teaching on forgiveness. Seeing God as KIng and us as those indebted to Him, we get a powerful lesson on forgiveness in Matthew 18.
I think the same scenario can be applied to love.
There was a servant man who owed the king an amount of money so big he could never repay it. The king was attempting to collect from those who owed him money and called the man in. He asked him for payment but the man could not pay so the king ordered him to be sold along with his wife and children and all he owned to pay the debt.
The man begged and pleaded with the king asking him to be patient and give him a chance to pay it back. The king felt pity for the man, released him and forgave his debt. The man left the king and tracked down a fellow servant who owed him a much smaller amount of money than what he had owed the king. He grabbed his fellow servant by the throat and demanded payment. The man begged for more time to repay the debt but the servant whose debt was forgiven had the man arrested and put in prison until the debt was paid.
In this teaching we wonder how someone who experienced such great forgiveness could withhold forgiveness from another. Let’s apply that to love. God loves those who believe in Christ so much He gave His Son for us. His love never expires and has no conditions. It is freely and fully given. If we accept and receive such a great love from God, how can we not give the same love to those around us? If we don’t give such love, it seems we are also ungrateful servants. Do we think we should be blessed with the great love of God and not love others in the same way?
How does our love measure up? If we need to tweak it, let’s not waste another day not giving it as it has been given to us. Love with a full heart without condition while being grateful for the unconditional love we receive.